One of 100
David Trinidad
To be one such one – for one night only.
To be singled out
for this brief distinction
and fly first class (on miles),
wear black tie, walk red carpet.
To be met with smiles
and camera-flash
and then be asked,
by a stringer,
“Who are you?”
“A poet? What’s it
like to be that?”
One only exists
when being photographed.
One fawns all over
the aged activist –
infirm but famous.
One hungers for
the elusive hors d’oeuvres.
One meets one:
an Oscar winner
who looks great – for 83.
His secret: carrot juice.
One finds
one has nothing
to say.
About this poem
“This poem is based on a friend’s account of attending Out magazine’s ‘star-studded’ ‘Out 100’ party. Hint: The Oscar winner won in 1973.” – David Trinidad
About David Trinidad
David Trinidad is the author of “Notes on a Past Life” (BlazeVOX [books], 2016). He teaches at Columbia College Chicago.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
(c) 2016 David Trinidad. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
